Winter is coming! It brings with it, dry air, harsh winds, and freezing temps. Those bring with them dry skin!

Lavender is probably my favorite herb, essential oil, scent, and color. I love love love everything about it. I have actually considered it for my next tattoo. Getting a lavender sprig on my right arm. I have been going back and forth on if I want it colored or just black. All of my other tattoos are black and I kind of love that. But I digress. Lavender is the bees knees.

I was inspired by putting lavender and vanilla essential oils into one of my diffusers. I decided I wanted to make a body butter using that lovely fragrance. This recipe was born. It smells rather heavenly. Cocoa butter, almond oil, lavender, and vanilla. It is like a delicious piece of pie all over your body.

Beyond smelling so yummy, it is really very moisturizing. I tested it out on myself. From toes to shoulders. It leaves your skin feeling soft. Your nails even get some hydration. My tattoos even looked refreshed after applying. It is a multi-use butter. You smell and look good.

Cocoa butter is rich in vitamin E, which is rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants help keep you young! It does have a strong scent that can overpower other scents. I am going to try making a version of this with a fractioned shea butter. Fractioned shea has a more subtle scent to it.

Cocoa butter comes solidified, if you did not know that. I ended up shaving it basically, into the measuring spoon. You have to heat it a bit and melt it down. You can use the double boiler option. Once that is liquified, add to your container. I use amber glass jars. Add the almond oil and essential oils. I emulsified with a tiny whisk. I was very thankful for my son’s passion for helping me cook. He picked out this very little whisk as one of his cooking tools. I borrowed it.

You will have to let it sit for a while before you start to see it solidify. It took mine overnight. Approximately 10-12 hours. I made it around 7pm and this morning around 7am, I noticed it was finally solid again! I applied it generously after my shower.

I included links to the specific items I used for this recipe. However, you can use whichever brand you prefer. I enjoy several brands of butters, oils, and herbs. I hope you get a chance to make this and if you do that you enjoy it as much as I do!

My five year old is sick. Again. Such is life during cold and flu season for us. He has asthma, and subsequently he is very susceptible to all sorts of respiratory viruses. I have been begging him to nap all day. Five year olds do NOT like to nap. Especially my five year old. I decided to look for something to make to help him. I was browsing one of my favorite essential oil sites, and was inspired by them. Eden’s Garden. They have a line specifically designed for tiny humans. I may have bought every single oil in their line (so thankful for that this afternoon) They have a recipe for a sleepy time sachet. Using their sleepy time oil. I altered it a little bit, because I had different materials available.

DIY Kids Sleep Sachet

Amount of rice/lavender will vary based on the size of you sachet. I happen to have a stock of muslin sachets in my herbs cabinet. For instructions on how to sew your own, you can refer to Eden’s Garden.

1 muslin sachet/bag

Handful of rice. I used brown rice, because that is what we have

Scoop of dried lavender

10-15 drops of Eden’s Garden Sleepy Time essential oil

Combine all of the ingredients in a zip baggie. Shake and mix well. Shake shake shake!

Pour the contents into the muslin bag. You can use a funnel if desired. I did not, I just kind of created a funnel with the zip bag.

Tied the muslin bag several times. I did 3 ties. Also, if you have smaller children who like to be adventurous coughcoughalexcoughcough you could sew this bag at the top as well.

This took me a whopping 5 minutes to whip up. Most of my time was spent taking the photos. If you’re not photographing for your blog post, then the time should be even less! I did not heat this in the microwave, the scent was strong enough for me after I got it tied up. But Eden’s Garden does note you can warm it as well as warming it if the scent seems to be fading. It is reusable in the sense that you can also add more oil to it as the scent fades. Reusable and lovely smelling? Count me in!

He is not asleep in that photo. He was just looking down, but anything to help him relax. I am hopeful at some point he will doze off, even for a little while. If not, this will at least promote relaxation in general and his body can calm down. I will transfer this to his bed tonight for actual sleepy time.